Something's
Gotta Give
(2003)
DVD
As upscale sitcoms go, Something's
Gotta Give has more to offer than most romantic comedies. Obviously working
through some semi - autobiographical issues regarding "women of a certain
age," writer - director Nancy Meyers brings adequate credibility and above
average intelligence to what is essentially (but not exclusively) a fantasy
premise, in which an aging lothario who's always dated younger women (Jack
Nicholson, more or less playing himself) falls for a successful middle-aged
playwright (Diane Keaton) who's convinced she's past the age of romance,
much less sexual re-awakening. As long as old pals Nicholson and Keaton
are on screen discussing their dilemma or discovering their mutual desire,
Something's Gotta Give is terrific, proving (in case anyone had forgotten)
that Hollywood can and should aim for an older demographic. Myers falls
short with the sitcom device of a younger lover (Keanu Reeves) who wants
Keaton as much as Nicholson does; it's believable but shallow and too easily
dismissed. Myers also skimps on supporting roles for Frances McDormand,
Amanda Peet, and Jon Favreau, but thankfully this is one romantic comedy
that doesn't pander to youth. Mature viewers, rejoice! --Jeff Shannon |
Notting
Hill
(Collector's
Edition)
(1999)
DVD
They don't really make many romantic
comedies like Notting Hill anymore--blissfully romantic, sincerely sweet,
and not grounded in any reality whatsoever. Pure fairy tale, and with a
huge debt to Roman Holiday, Notting Hill ponders what would happen if a
beautiful, world-famous person were to suddenly drop into your life unannounced
and promptly fall in love with you. That's the crux of the situation for
William Thacker (Hugh Grant), who owns a travel bookshop in London's fashionable
Notting Hill district. Hopelessly ordinary (well, as ordinary as you can
be when you're Hugh Grant), William is going about his life when renowned
movie star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) walks into his bookstore and into
his heart.
--Mark Englehart
|
The
Horse Whisperer
(1997)
DVD
Starring: Robert Redford, Kristin
Scott Thomas
Redford stars as the title
character, a Montana rancher named Tom Booker, who possesses the specialized
talent of healing traumatized horses through careful and affectionate rehabilitation.
He gets his most challenging case when he's sought out by a fast-lane New
York magazine editor (Kristin Scott Thomas, in a role modeled after former
New Yorker editor Tina Brown) whose daughter (Scarlett Johansson) was injured
and traumatized by an accident that nearly killed her favorite horse. When
mother, daughter, and horse arrive at Booker's ranch, the big-city editor
falls in love with the serene rancher and faces the painful decision of
whether to stay in Montana or return to her husband (Sam Neill) in New
York.
|
|
The
Bridges of Madison County (1995) DVD
Some called it a snooze-fest, while
others tearfully clutched their Kleenex. In any case, Clint Eastwood was
an unusual and (as it turned out) perceptive choice to direct and costar
in this lush adaptation of Robert James Waller's phenomenally bestselling
novel. Meryl Streep costars as Francesca, the lonely Iowa farmer's wife
who is instantly attracted to Robert (Eastwood), the photographer from
National Geographic who is in the area to photograph the bridges along
Iowa's rural roadways.
|
French
Kiss (1995) DVD
Ryan plays a woman whose fiancé
(Timothy Hutton) leaves her for a Parisian beauty. She jets over to the
City of Lights to fight for her man, but an incapacitating fear of flying
forces her to seek help from a fellow passenger, a French thief played
by Kevin Kline, who then tutors her in the ways of getting her beau back. |
Pretty
Woman-10th Anniversary (1990) DVD
This is the movie that made Roberts
a star; the charm of her personality helping tremendously to carry viewers
over the rough spots in the script (which was originally a cynical tale
about prostitution called 3000--after the amount of money Richard Gere's
character pays the prostitute to stay with him for the week). Gere is the
silver-haired Wall Street knight who sweeps streetwalker Roberts into a
fantasy world of room service at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel and
fashion boutique shopping on Rodeo Drive. The supporting cast is also appealing,
including Laura San Giacomo as Roberts's hooker pal, Hector Elizondo as
hotel manager, Jason Alexander, Ralph Bellamy, and Hank Azaria. --J. Emerson
|
Love
Story (1970) VHS
One of the classic films of this
era! Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Ali MacGraw
A New England college is the
setting for this study of a love affair that is tinged with the tragedy
of illness. Academy Award Nominations: 7, including Best Picture, Best
Director Best Actor, Best Actress, Best (Adapted) Screenplay. Academy Awards:
Best Original Score. |
| City
of Angels (1998) DVD |
| City
of Angels (1998) VHS |
| The
Wedding Singer (1998) DVD |
| The
Wedding Singer (1998) VHS |
| The
Matchmaker (1997) DVD |
| The
Matchmaker (1997) VHS |
| 'Til
There Was You (1997) VHS |
| The
Mirror Has Two Faces DVD |
| The
Mirror Has Two Faces VHS |
| Jerry
Maguire (1996) DVD |
| Only
You (1994) DVD |
| Only
You (1994) VHS |
| Sommersby
(1993) DVD |
| Sommersby
(1993) VHS |
| Wuthering
Heights (1939) DVD |
| Wuthering
Heights (1939) VHS |
|
Love
Actually (2003) DVD
With no fewer than eight couples
vying for our attention, Love Actually is like the Boston Marathon of romantic
comedies, and everybody wins. Having mastered the genre as the writer of
Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones's Diary, it
appears that irst-time director Richard Curtis is just like his screenplays:
He just wants to be loved, and he'll go to absurdly appealing lengths to
win our affection. --Jeff Shannon |
Someone
Like You (2001) DVD
Based on Laura Zigman's novel Animal
Husbandry. Someone Like You is an agreeable romantic comedy about how people
construct elaborate defenses to cope with emotional anguish. |
My
Best Friend's Wedding (1997) DVD
Julia plays a prominent Chicago
restaurant critic whose best friend (Dermot Mulroney) is a former lover
from her college days with whom she'd made a binding pact: if neither of
them were married by the age of 28, they'd marry each other. Just when
they're about to reach the deadline of their agreement, Mulroney arrives
in Chicago to introduce Roberts to his seemingly perfect fiancée
(Cameron Diaz) and announce their wedding in just three days. That leaves
the shocked Julia with just three short days to sabotage the wedding and
marry the man she now realizes she's loved all along. With potential heartbreak
waiting in the wings, she'll either get what she wants or pay the price
for her selfish behavior, and Ronald Bass's cleverly constructed screenplay
keeps us guessing to the very end.
|
The
Bodyguard (1992) DVD
A high-wattage star vehicle as
only Hollywood can make. The Bodyguard stars Whitney Houston as a pop-music
diva and Kevin Costner as the stern bodyguard who is assigned to protect
her after the singer receives some nasty death threats. Solid film debut
for Houston, who's most effective singing Dolly Parton's old song ``I Will
Always Love You. ''
|
Romeo
and Juliet (1968) VHS
Narrated by Laurence Olivier. One
of the best cinematic versions of Shakespeare's immortal tale of two young
lovers kept apart by their families. Unique for its casting
leads who were only 17 and
15, respectively, this exquisitely photographed film (by Pasquale de Santis,
who won an Oscar) has a hauntingly beautiful musical score by
Nino Rota and Oscar-winning
costumes by Danilo Donati. |
|
